Chuck vs Jenny Burton
by MyNameIsJeffNImLost
Summary: Dear Mr. Carmichael, We are extremely sorry if this is inappropriate, but we are desperate. We are hoping you could help us track down Jennifer Burton for the James Buchanan High School, class of 1998, twenty-year reunion. We are also looking for Heather Chandler, but several of us were sure after seeing you and Jenny together that you'd still be. Starts 7 years after the finale.


_Posted June 8, 2019_

A/N: Complement to "Chuck vs the Cougars," 2.04, Could be considered seven years after _Chuck & Sarah vs Their Next Adventure_, but this also works as a stand-alone one-shot, 7+ years after the finale. This story isn't tied directly to _C&S v TNA_.

Disclaimer: Nobody else owns anything here, so why would I?

Disclaimer 2: No beta. Why would I sucker/obligate/subject anyone into reading this when they didn't want to? However, if you PM me corrections, I'll fix them.

* * *

Sarah returned home, dropping her purse in a chair closest to the door.

"What are you still doing here?" she asked her husband.

Chuck was at the dining room table, rapidly typing away on his notebook computer. "You're back!" he said, closing the computer, focusing all of his attention on her.

Sarah loved how Chuck's face completely lit up every time he saw her. It didn't matter that they had been married eight years or they she had been away less than an hour.

"I was just dropping off Katie at kindergarten." Katie was in a half-day, afternoon kindergarten program, instead of whole day. Sarah had been homeschooling their daughter in mornings to supplement her education. Schools didn't teach things like when not to tell everyone that dad had a supercomputer in his head. It was a little advanced for most five year olds, but Sarah started learning cons at that age, and Katie loved learning from her mom about how to keep secrets when the other kids said all sorts of things their parents probably didn't want shared. She also was reading at fourth grade level and had started jiu-jitsu and kung fu. Chuck and Sarah didn't want her to skip ahead so she would stay with kids her own age. This was their last chance before full-day first grade to stimulate their daughter's mind and still let her socialize with other kids her age. Clara was a great cousin, but at the girls' ages, three years was a big difference.

Sarah repeated her previous question, "Why aren't you at work?"

"Alex has that meeting at the Fourth-Second Bank's headquarters to finalize that contract, so she's going to be there. You told me to stay off the pinball machines as much or you'd have them returned, and you know how it is when Morgan is between jobs. I figured I could work from here, and he'd stay home too."

"Across the courtyard, it looked like someone was there. Are you saying to keep my hands off your pinball machine?"

"Not at all. We were flying back from South Korea last weekend, which technically means we've worked eleven days straight. Time for a three-day weekend."

Sarah pecked him on the cheek as he sat and looked over at the small stacks of envelopes on table. "Ok, I know something I'd rather do anyway."

Chuck perked up, "Yes, ma'am."

Sarah said, "Down boy. Definitely later, but not yet." Sarah was four months pregnant on their second, and she always seemed amorous. Easy access to a bed had a lot of appeal to her, but a couple things were higher priority. She briefly checked the shred and recycle piles before claiming the two envelopes in the pile addressed to her and moving to sit on the sofa.

"Of course," Chuck said as he followed her to the living room area. Sarah sat at one end with her legs stretched out down the sofa. Chuck took a seat at the opposite end. Sarah lifted up her feet, and he put them on his lap. He proceed to remove her shoes and socks, and he started rubbing her feet.

After a moment of moans from Sarah, Chuck said, "You know I don't mind doing this at all, but you're a lot more expressive than you are when we do that other thing."

From her sitting position, Sarah tossed one envelope a few feet through the air to land on the top of the recycle pile on the table. She said, "Your fingers are magic. You know I never wear that T-shirt you gave me for our anniversary a few years ago, but that's not because I don't love it. It's mainly because it doesn't smell like you. The message on it is exactly right, though. Spies do it silently. The shirt isn't talking about receiving foot rubs when their feet are swollen."

She frowned and held up the remaining opened envelope to Chuck. "What is this?"

Chuck tried to sound innocent, saying, "It's addressed to me."

"Jenny Burton, in care of Charles Carmichael. And what is this?" Sarah pointed to her hair, where a cheap crown sat. Chuck had placed it on her head as he had walked by to sit on the couch. She hadn't missed it.

"That's yours," he replied.

"Why do we still have it?"

"You won that." Chuck hesitantly asked, "Do you remember your tenth reunion?"

"Pieces. I think I'm glad I forgot the rest. I remember the best parts— knocking out Dick Duffy and Heather Chandler. I know what this is on my head because I remember parts of the next day. This crown was won by Jenny Burton, and that was just an alias. Sarah Walker, who married Chuck Bartowski, didn't go to high school. Director Graham gave me that name on the day he arrested my dad when I was still in high school, but I didn't use it until after I graduated."

* * *

_**Ten and a half years earlier  
**__**The Woodcomb-Bartowski Apartment**_

Sarah loved Ellie's cooking, but tonight she could tell the other woman was pulling out all of the stops. She had been smiling all night, and acting like Sarah was an honored guest, even though she and had been cover-dating Chuck for about a year.

Time to cut through the act. "What's going on?" Sarah asked.

"Oh, nothing. We're just treating you how royalty deserves to be treated."

_Not that. How could Ellie know?_ "What are you talking about?" It really didn't take much for Sarah to figure it out, but Ellie shouldn't know what had happened. She and Casey left it out of their reports to the CIA.

"I asked Chuck where you two went on a fancy date last night. I wouldn't let him act like it was no big deal, and eventually he admitted you two went to San Diego. I had to know more, so after some effort, I found out you were named queen at your high school reunion."

Ellie dropped her polite demeanor, and turned at looked at Chuck with a serious expression. "Chuck," she prompted.

He begrudgingly stood and went back towards his room. A moment later, he returned and placed the crown from the night before on Sarah's head.

With Sarah crowned, Ellie was happy again. "This is great. Everyone at your old high school recognized what we already knew. You're the best. Since you're the queen, I'll rolling out the red carpet, so to speak. I wanted to get a reservation at The Smoke House, but Chuck insisted that we just eat here instead of a nice steakhouse."

Devon said, "Is it ok that I call you Your Highness? Milady seems weird because that lady," he pointed to Ellie, "is my lady."

Sarah didn't have to pretend to be embarrassed for the cover because her embarrassment was genuine. She was also a little mad at the guy who shared a cheeseburger with her earlier that day. "Thank you, Devon, but please just call me 'Sarah.' Ellie, I like any meal from you better than a fancy restaurant."

She started to reach up to take off the crown, but Ellie pointed at her and firmly said, "No. That stays on." Sarah obeyed.

Sarah once again mentally agreed with Morgan that Ellie's pot roast was fantastic. _Everything_ was good. The triple chocolate dessert was the kind that made a lot of people think they'd have to do an extra half-hour workout the next day. For Sarah, that meant an hour and a half instead of her normal hour. It was completely worth it.

Right after dessert was finished, but before places were cleared, both Devon and Ellie received and stepped away for calls. Devon's was from his mother. Ellie was called by a coworker wanting to swap shifts the next day. That left Chuck and Sarah alone at the table, so the spy immediately focused on her sheepish looking asset.

"Chuck, explain."

"What about the…" Chuck circled a finger in the air, then pointed to his ear.

"Don't worry about it. If Casey doesn't want me to amend my mission report with more details about his DJ antics, he'll scrub all monitoring records for this place for the entire evening. Why wasn't this thing on my head destroyed, and why do Ellie and Devon know anything about where we were on a mission?"

"I'm really, genuinely sorry." Chuck seemed almost fearful, and the apology was not a fake one. In Sarah's opinion, it was really good that Chuck was being open to _her_. It didn't explain why Chuck blabbed to two civilians.

Chuck continued at his typical nervous rambling pace, "I saved the crown because I figured you wouldn't want it in a CIA vault some place with other post-mission artifacts, and you didn't want Casey to get it. Throwing it in the trash didn't occur to me because you don't do that for something like this. It probably has something to do with Ellie's ring ending up in a dumpster. People can find it. I had it temporarily sitting on my bed when Ellie walked into my room and saw me hanging up my suit. I couldn't come up with a cover story fast enough, so I told her the truth, that you were named reunion queen."

"You told her I was once Jenny Burton?" Sarah asked, half-accusingly.

"Of course not. I didn't say that's your name or even where you went to high school. Keep in mind that Morgan took Ellie's pillow to prom and that I went with him, stag. Ellie got excited about her brother going to a school dance with a date, so this is what happened. Tonight is as low-keyed as I could manage. Morton's was mentioned, and I said I couldn't afford it. She found out I bought you a cheeseburger and wasn't happy."

"I liked sharing a cheeseburger with you," Sarah protested.

"She didn't understand you were treating a cut and hadn't gotten to the concealer because I didn't mention that part. I did manage to convince her not to get reservations, but she immediately went to the grocery store."

"Chuck, you know that just because she and Devon have needles in their first-aid doctor's bags they keep here doesn't mean that she is threatening you with those needles."

Chuck looked ashen. "I hadn't thought of that. No. My sister has special powers over me. No needles necessary. I save my resistance for bigger secrets. This was one of those things where, like you have said, I mixed real things into a cover story to make it more believable."

Sarah said, "Sarah Walker wasn't named reunion queen. Jenny Burton was, and Jenny Burton doesn't exist. You passed on asking me a question earlier today, so you are getting one fact now for free. Most CIA agents are recruited when they are in college. I was recruited while I was still a student during the one year I was at that high school. The CIA knows Jenny Burton was a fake name too. I became Sarah Walker when I entered college. My background was scrubbed. My driver's license, which had that name, was erased from governmental records. My transcript was removed from state and university records. My entrance exam scores were never entered into an official system to begin with. Neither Sarah nor Jenny was my original name. I shouldn't have this crown, because nothing should be tying me to that high school. I'm sure 'Jennifer Burton' is listed in some unofficial records, and they have a yearbook photo, but that picture looks nothing like me. Your cover story has real details about me, but details I don't want tied to me. Next time, don't bring things we pick up on missions home. Got it?"

Sarah didn't wait for an answer, gave Chuck a quick peck on the lips, and started clearing dishes.

Chuck just sat there, stunned. He couldn't interpret that as a cover kiss. The room was empty. There were cameras in the room, though Sarah had said she was going to blackmail Casey about that. Sarah just told him something about her past...and she reamed him out. Even this night was an accident he tried to control. He was being too sweet not to kiss.

* * *

_**Many years later, Sarah and Chuck still on the sofa**_

Running a finger along the open end of the envelope, Sarah asked Chuck, "What's in it?"

Chuck started massaging her other foot and said, "It's for your twentieth reunion."

"I graduated high school twenty-one years ago."

"The letter says they had trouble getting organized last year—they started too late—so they are doing it this year instead. They just need you."

"Why would I ever want to go to a reunion at the high school I was attending when my dad was arrested?"

"You went to your tenth reunion," Chuck argued.

"I was ordered to go for national security reasons. I got to work out some childhood issues and beat the crap out of a couple people. We stopped the bad guys. You had my back during it, and you were really sweet the next morning. Everything else was awful."

"I still say that I couldn't do anything more about that next night. You know how Ellie gets. Do you at least remember Casey as DJ?"

"No, I thought you were DJ, though that doesn't make sense. Working as a DJ sounds like a cover for Casey."

"I got on the DJ mic to subtlety point out a couple people I had flashed on. You blackmailed Casey about the way he danced as he was DJ'ing earlier in the evening. It'd probably a good thing you don't remember it."

Sarah said, "What I don't get is why did you get this letter?" Sarah really couldn't put any heat into her question with Chuck's magic fingers working her feet. It was great that Ellie told her that these pregnancy side effects were completely normal and that Chuck was so good at doing exactly what she needed to make it easier for her. As long as she watched her food selection to help keep her morning sickness under control, pregnancy was great. Last time at eight months, she punched through a heavy bag.

Chuck answered, "We do get Carmichael mail here occasionally because of the business. They had that name because I was your date for the tenth reunion. The reunion committee was having trouble finding both the prom queen and the reunion queen. Who knows what they want to do with you."

"Heather Chandler is still in prison. She might be up for parole before the thirtieth. Jenny Burton was an alias. My dad uses Jack Burton because that's the name he was arrested as, so it feels more real. The Feds won't come after him directly because 'Jack Burton' has helped them catch terrorists a couple times. Why would they contact you to find Jenny Burton? You married Sarah Walker, and I'm now Sarah Bartowski. Jenny Burton doesn't exist. For reunion searches, last names often change with marriage, but first names typically stay the same. If I didn't think that it's ok that Jenny loved you too, this could cause a problem in our marriage. How are they supposed to know this is safe?"

"The letter apologized profusely up-front, but they strongly believed that we'd still be together. They didn't know I married someone named Sarah."

Sarah laid her head back and closed her eyes, thinking about sinking through the sofa because she was so relaxed. She managed to say, "I have zero interest in going. The CIA can't order us this time. The reunion committee will just have to do without both Heather and me. You told me that you and Ellie don't go because that was around when your dad left you and she had to take over as guardian. Morgan isn't interested because you're not. A couple years ago, Alex told me her life is better now, and she doesn't want to relive the past. Does Devon go to these sorts of things? He was probably 'awesome' back then."

"No. Devon had a very demanding work schedule the first time, working a lot of weekends and nights, and he didn't want to cause waves. Someone on his class's reunion committee tried to embezzle some money, so they aren't trying again. He was always closer friends with guys from his college frat, anyway."

Sarah pleasantly sighed. "There's no reason for me to be the only one to suffer through a reunion. From a practical standpoint, I'll be about to pop, so standing on my feet for an evening sounds even less fun. My feet are already swollen." She rubbed her hand over her slightly thickening belly and said, "Rebecca doesn't need to go to a party that I don't want to attend anyway."

In her opinion. it was really good that they were going to have a girl, but Chuck had his heart set on using her pre-CIA aliases for names. Before Katie was born, she had him cut down the list to the main two. She didn't want ten kids.

Sarah pulled her feet away and stood up. She gave Chuck a hand and said, "Let's go back to our bedroom. We still have a few hours before I have to think about getting ready to pick up Katie."

Chuck bounced up, then stopped and pointed at the top of Sarah's head. "What about that?"

"Leave it. You always treat me like a queen. I might as well dress the part. It's not like I'll be wearing anything else."

Chuck dutifully followed Sarah down the hall without a single complaint.


End file.
